Expert Testimony -- active



Barry v. DePuy Synthes Companies   (Federal Circuit)

Keeping Junk Theories Out of Patent Disputes

On April 6, 2026, the NAM filed an amicus brief urging the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals to find that Rule 702 requires courts to act as gatekeepers and exclude evidence based on unreliable methodologies. This is a patent infringement case in which a plaintiff surgeon accused DePuy of infringing on his patented designs of spinal surgical tools. At trial, one of the plaintiff’s experts offered a survey that was intended to show surgeon behavior, but the evidence revealed that it was not based on a representative sample and was not appropriately controlled for nonresponse bias. The district court properly excluded the expert’s testimony, but the appeals court reversed. Our amicus brief argues that the district court properly executed its duty to keep unreliable evidence from reaching the jury and the Federal Circuit should reinstate its decision. All manufacturers have an interest in keeping junk science out of the courtroom.


Related Documents:
NAM Brief  (April 6, 2026)